Chapter 2: I Don’t Know How That Got in There

Across from him, a sirfetch’d stood with his leek carefully positioned behind the cue ball and threaded between two of his left wing-digits. “Patience, Shimmer. A skilled bank shot like this takes time and focus.” Robin slowly moved the leek forward and back.

“It’s been three minutes! My mane’s going to gray at this rate.” Shimmer flicked his cotton candy hair over his right shoulder, then brushed dust off his scarlet vest’s gold trimmings.

With a smirk, Robin struck the cue ball. It rolled to the wall on his right, then banked off at a ninety-degree angle and struck the seven ball, knocking it into the center-left cup. Robin stood up straight and held his leek triumphantly. “Now all that’s left is the eight ball and I win.” He gestured to the black ball in question. “And I’m lined up perfectly for it.”

Shimmer rolled his eyes. “Only because you took longer with each of your shots than the meltan do with my laundry.” He pushed off the table and landed on all fours. His hooves plinked against the marble floor. “Billiards is supposed to be relaxing. Yet every time I play you, I can feel my blood pressure going up.” Shimmer sniffed at the puffy lining of his vest and cringed. “Ugh. Good thing I didn’t change into my gown for the banquet yet. It’d be lined with sweat.”

“Make all the excuses you want.” Robin positioned himself on the edge of the table and lined his leek up to strike the cue ball straight at the eight ball. “This game is still mine. Eight ball, corner pock—”

The oak door to the boys’ dorm lounge swung open and a sylveon charged in. “Guys, you’re not gonna believe this!”

“Gah!” Robin jumped the moment he struck the cue ball, causing it to spin out to his left and drop into the corner pocket closest to Shimmer. The ponyta stole Robin’s confident smirk.

“A scratch on the eight ball. Looks like I win.” Shimmer flicked his head to his right. “As if there was ever any doubt.”

Robin raised his right wing to slam his leek on the table, but managed to contain his anger. Instead, he whirled on the sylveon. “What’s the big idea, Xander? You cost me the game!”

“Yeah, seriously.” Shimmer tilted his head. “Where have you been? We finished getting our supplies hours ago.” He noticed pit stains on Xander’s pink lace robes. “Were you at the gym… in that outfit?”

“No.” Xander stood hunched over, catching his breath. He tilted his head back for a few seconds, then squared up his stance. “I was out in the courtyard helping the art club with the last sign for tonight and you’re not gonna believe what I saw!”

“Look, if you caught another pair of first-years in a make-out session, then take it up with someone else,” Shimmer dismissed with a tap of his right forehoof. “We have more important things to—”

Xander shook his head. “Wasn’t that, Your Highness. It was the new girl— the little wyrm thingy.” He wiggled his ribbons around. “I saw her getting walked up to Chancellor Vortex’s office with a filthy-looking charizard and an orbeetle.”

“So? I’m not her babysitter,” Shimmer sneered. “You gonna tear up the school halls every time she sneezes?”

“That’s not it. Not too long before that, I saw her parents go into the Chancellor’s office.” Xander grinned. “I bet she’s in trouble.”

Shimmer quirked a brow. “Or maybe her parents got cold feet and are pulling her out? Dragons are all cold-blooded, icy-hearted brutes anyway. They probably took one look at the school’s curriculum and realized their daughter would fail.”

“I don’t know.” Robin picked up his shield, carefully built from the base of his leek. “Is it really that bad if she’s here? What about Chiaki? He’s reptilian, too, and there’s that gabite body guard that’s always skulking along with him.”

“He may be reptilian, but he’s not a true dragon,” Xander said. “As long as the gabite isn’t around, he’s perfectly reasonable company.”

“Reasonable is an understatement,” Shimmer scoffed. “He’s tolerable at best.”

“Okay.” Robin’s shoulders sagged. “But that’s all irrelevant. Doesn’t Her Eminence want you to befriend the new girl? Our kingdoms are trying to get along, remember?”

“Tch. I suppose.” Shimmer brushed his mane out of his face. “But we shouldn’t have to lower ourselves to the dragons’ backwards standards. I hear they still live in shacks made of mud and rocks.”

“Well, one thing’s for sure, we’re looking at another problem kid.” Xander rubbed his snout with a ribbon. “She’s bound to be trouble… just like Nikki.”

“Oh god, don’t remind me of her.” Shimmer rolled his eyes. “I feel so bad for whoever gets stuck on her Crowne Cup team. They’re guaranteed to be eliminated in the first leg… and that shame will stick with them the rest of their lives.”

“So, should we try to see if we can find out more about our ‘esteemed’ exchange student?” Robin wondered.

Shimmer shook his head. “No. Let the Chancellor handle her. We should prepare for tonight.” His eyes sparkled. “After all, as glee club president, I get the honor of introducing Starlene!”

“Aww man, you’re gonna get me an autograph, right?” Xander said, batting his eyelids at Shimmer.

The ponyta walked by him. “I’ll think about it.” Shimmer hip-checked Xander.

“This is an outrage!” A duraludon slammed his silver fist down on a pristine, white oak desk. Papers scattered and folders opened. Spittle doused the papers closest to him. “We bring Yunavresca here as a gesture of goodwill and on her first day she’s assaulted twice in the span of hours!”

Doing her best to hide between Noctum’s right leg and the side of a black leather couch, Yuna wasn’t sure what she found scarier: one of her dad’s rare outbursts or the fact that, throughout it, Chancellor Vortex kept the same enthusiastic grin he had on in the dining hall.

“King Calcifer, I understand your frustrations,” Vortex said, producing a handkerchief from his jacket’s inner pocket and wiping the saliva off his desk. “But I would ask that you please not take them out on my desk. It is one of a kind, you see. Utterly irreplaceable.”

The dragapult floating beside Calcifer put a hand on his gold-plated shoulder bangle. “Deep breaths, dear.” Her serene expression quickly shifted, however. “I should think we have every right to be frustrated, sir. Queen Calliope told us that Horizon Gardens was the safest place in the entire kingdom. So, how do you explain these transgressions?”

Vortex clasped his hands together. “Why, they’re nothing more than a pair of unfortunate coincidences. What can I say, Queen Yiazmat? These things happen.”

Yiazmat wasn’t convinced. “No. If it happens once, it’s a coincidence. If it happens twice… it’s a pattern.” Her expression darkened further. Normally, Yuna would expect one of her twin brothers to pipe up and lighten the mood, but they weren’t in the dragapult’s horns.

“Y-Your Majesty, please… I’m at fault here.” Noctum put a hand on his chest. “If I hadn’t left Princess Yuna—”

“Save your breath, Noctum,” Yiazmat said, hand raised to silence him. “Our daughter should not need round-the-clock monitoring to safely attend this institution. Especially if it’s located in the same community as the base for this kingdom’s army.”

“Yes, well, I’m afraid the Radiant Guard are a bit preoccupied at the moment.” Vortex leaned over to rest his elbows on his desk. “So, we have fewer of them here than usual.”

“Preoccupied… because of the mystery dungeons that appeared across your kingdom overnight?” Yiazmat raised a brow. Yuna’s tail crinkled up. She hadn’t heard anything about that. A quick glance at Noctum suggested he was equally clueless. The only thing tipping her off that her mother wasn’t bluffing was the momentary lapse in Vortex’s cheery expression.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He preoccupied himself rearranging the papers Calcifer scattered. Yuna wasn’t buying it. She poked her head out from behind the couch to get a better look at her mother’s cross expression.

“Don’t lie to me.” Yiazmat crossed her arms. “I had some of my best fliers do a survey of the kingdom early this morning. There are distortion pillars rising up within your cities.”

“It was also the cover story in the Radiant Beacon,” Calcifer added. “I take it this is why neither of the queens are here? Because I would think that they would want to do their best to make their esteemed guests feel welcome and safe.”

Vortex sighed and rubbed his horns. “Ah, forgive me. I was under the impression that a visiting delegation would refrain from conducting surveillance in a foreign territory.” He pivoted his office chair slightly to look out the full-scale window behind him. “Especially a delegation seeking a treaty with said territory.”

“Don’t try to deflect the matter,” Yiazmat growled. Shadows flared inside her horns. “The treaty hasn’t been signed and we still remember the past icy receptions your nobility has given us.”

“My apologies. I mean no ill-will.” Vortex raised his hands and laughed innocently. “I’m sorry. The past twenty-four hours have been… stressful, to say the least.”

Yuna gulped. It was true, then. Mystery dungeons were popping up within cities. Did that mean Horizon Gardens was vulnerable to the distortion, too? Could the school be swallowed up? If Yuna got trapped in a dungeon, she wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping unharmed.

She looked around the room, desperate for any signs Vortex knew how to protect the school. All she got were some framed paintings of the charizard. Magazine covers labeling him “Person of the Year” or ribbon cutting ceremonies where he stood proudly with his gardevoir assistant. The shelves in the room didn’t reassure her, either. There were small statues, glass figurines, a couple of antique snow globes, and collections of books about economics.

“Hey, is everything all right?” Noctum bent over. “You look a bit pale.”

“You heard them. M-Mystery dungeons,” Yuna squeaked. “What if… what if we get swallowed into a dungeon, Noctum?”

The black charizard gave her a quick side-hug with his right arm. “Baraz and I won’t let that happen to you.”

Yuna wished she found that reassuring, but kept thinking of the strange, helmeted beast that attacked her earlier. Why did it seem so interested in her? Was it trying to spread distortion into Horizon Gardens?

“Really? An accidental explosion?” Yiazmat drew Yuna’s attention back to Vortex’s desk.

Vortex sighed. “I’m afraid so. One of our Crowne Ministers was working with some guards in his estate when they accidentally set off several blast seeds in succession.” He shook his head. “The explosion triggered what I believe are magical self-defense systems within the Needles. They generated the distortion pillars, creating the mystery dungeons in question.”

“But Chancellor Vortex, how is that even possible?” Cid piped up. Yuna was surprised the orbeetle was still there. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who could make her presence small. “The barriers Polaris developed are supposed to protect us from distortion.”

“The barriers are designed to stop distortion with known, analyzed wavelengths,” Vortex explained, gazing out his window at rolling green hills with train tracks wedged between them. “The Needles must’ve produced distortion fields with unique wavelengths.”

“Then doesn’t that mean your cities are going to be swallowed up by distortion?” Calcifer shot Yiazmat a worried look. Yuna’s tail crinkled up again. The dreepy wanted to go back to her room and forget this day had ever happened.

“That remains to be seen. So far, there’s been no spread,” Vortex replied. “Perhaps the barriers are having an effect in that regard.”

“We could offer you assistance,” Yiazmat said. “The whole reason you want this treaty is because we can reduce distortion levels in your kingdom.”

“Though I appreciate the thought, it’s not my call.” Vortex brushed off his jacket. “I defer to the queens and their advisors.”

“And they are… where, exactly?” Calcifer asked. The duraludon tapped his right foot.

“Quelling fears within Parliament.” Vortex walked back to his desk and resumed collecting scattered papers. “I would’ve gone there myself, but after I heard about what happened to your daughter, I thought it best to speak with you in-person.”

“I see.” Yiazmat crossed her arms. “So, rather than having one of them spare time to tend to their would-be allies, they offered us a glorified messenger lizard with a cane and a fancy suit.” She glanced at the cane in question. The corviknight figurine sparkled from the afternoon sunlight.

“The cane is for show. A status symbol,” Vortex retorted. “And make no mistake, Queen Yiazmat,” he adjusted the lapels of his suit jacket, “unlike some charizard… I’m not content to kowtow to others.”

It was quick, but Yuna spotted the sideways glance Vortex gave Noctum. He did, too, since he grabbed his shoulder belt while his tail flame shrank. “A-Again, Your Majesties, I’m really sorry about what happened,” Noctum whispered, squeezing the belt straps.

“You’re fine, Noctum.” Yiazmat waved him off. “Well then, Chancellor, answer me this… knowing the community is at risk, do you still intend to hold this Crowne Cup event you railed about the other day?”

Vortex didn’t hesitate with his response. “Absolutely.” He held an index finger up. “I see that doubtful look in your eyes. But, dignitaries or not, I can’t expect foreigners to understand and appreciate just what the Crowne Cup means to the kingdom and its people.” Vortex stepped away from the desk and paced in front of the window. “It is more than a simple game or test… it is the foundation upon which our students build their futures!

“They get to see and experience the inner workings of important businesses throughout the kingdom. And the challenges the Ministers create pass their leadership skills to the next generation… all while the citizens watch and see their future leaders in action.” He stopped and pointed at Yuna. “This journey… it will give you the keys to unlock a brighter tomorrow and spread hope to every corner of the world.”

Vortex threw his arms apart, his coattails fluttering. “That is what the Crowne Cup is truly about: cultivating hope.” A broad smile spread across his face. “Hope invigorates. Hope inspires. Hope brings people together. If we want a prosperous future, then we need hope.”

He stopped to catch his breath, then looked back at Yuna’s parents. “And that, Your Majesties, is why I won’t cancel the Crowne Cup.”

Yuna went slack-jawed. While Vortex’s enthusiasm had previously unnerved her, the passion behind his impromptu speech made something stir inside her ectoplasm. She knew what this was. Her mother described it as her race’s equivalent of a racing heart. The question is… am I excited or scared? She honestly wasn’t sure.

“A moving speech.” Yiazmat slowly applauded. “I daresay, were you among Aeons, you’d have numerous folks belting flames and dragonfire toward the sky in celebration.”

Vortex’s smile slowly receded. “I’m hearing… hesitation.”

Yiazmat floated over to Yuna, who promptly tensed. “Cultivating hope sounds noble on paper. But it is something you can do without risking the safety of our daughter.” The dragapult put her hands on the sides of Yuna’s triangular head. “We’ll let Princess Yunavresca stay… provided you withdraw her from the Crowne Cup.”

“What?” Cid and Yuna exclaimed in unison. They looked in bewilderment at each other, before focusing on Yiazmat.

“You heard me, Yunavresca. I don’t want you taking part in this ritual.” Yiazmat leaned over. “You have far too much at stake.”

“B-But, Mom—”

“This isn’t open for negotiation.”

Yuna’s gaze fell toward the ground. Her mother was giving her an out. There’d be no worrying about a preliminary test or trying to work with complete strangers. Strangers who’d probably give her the cold shoulder because of her dragon-typing. She wouldn’t have to battle, either. Yuna could keep her head down, focus on her school work, graduate, and return to her friends.

So why was this giving her pause? The longer the dreepy reflected on it, the less okay she felt about accepting it without a fight.

Vortex’s footsteps broke the tense silence. He returned to his office chair and flipped through papers. “I see. I suppose I could arrange that. She wouldn’t be the only one.” He paused and pulled over yellow folder. “A few students always opt out for various reasons. But they have the luxury of doing so earlier… before the teams are set.”

“Meaning what?” Calcifer asked.

“If I pull your daughter out… I’ll also have to sideline the two students the committee partnered her with.” Vortex held up the yellow folder. “And, well, I’m not too sure they’d take it well. To say nothing of how their parents would respond.”

That was it. The reason Yuna was so unsure of it. She’d already gotten off to an awkward start with her peers. The last thing she wanted was to make things even worse by sitting out such a big, important event. That would isolate her from the rest of the school for sure.

“Are you serious?” Yiazmat’s spectral tail lashed at the air. “You, an educator, would use peer pressure to try and get to our daughter? The nerve!”

Yuna looked at her mom. She had to say something. But the words were trapped in her mouth.

“Peer pressure?” Vortex raised his hands innocently. “I’m doing nothing of the sort. I’m only trying to give you the full picture.”

“Mom, I—”

“We demand to speak to Queen Isola this instant,” Calcifer said, ready to slam his fist on the desk again.

“Stop it!” Yuna finally yelled. She flinched at her shrill voice and shrank back when her parents looked at her.

“What’s wrong, Yuna?” Calcifer took a step toward her. Yuna hovered higher.

“I… I don’t want to sit out.”

Yiazmat briefly glared at Vortex, before putting on a calmer expression to face her daughter with. “Yuna, sweetie, I understand how you feel, but—”

“No, you don’t. C-Chancellor Vortex is right, Mom.” Yuna squeezed the sides of her head. “I can’t sit by while everyone else takes part in the Crowne Cup. It’s just going to make the other students hate me.” Her arms sagged. “They were already looking at me and Baraz funny this morning. I don’t want to make it worse.”

“That’s no reason to put yourself in harm’s way,” Yiazmat said. “Just tell us who was making you uncomfortable. We’ll talk with the queens and—”

“It won’t work, Mom. You can’t force people to like me,” Yuna growled, only to throw her hands over her mouth. She waited until her trembling died down before continuing. “You and Dad always make a point of how you won’t be around forever… and, once I’m queen, I’m going to have to look after myself and make my own decisions.” Yuna squeezed her eyes shut. “W-Well, if I can’t make decisions for myself in school… how can I expect to be a good queen for the kingdom?”

She poked an eye open. Noctum looked at her blankly, as did her parents. Cid focused on one of Vortex’s lavender vases. The orange charizard, however, vigorously applauded her. “Well said, Princess!” He put his hands on his hips. “I was right in my assessment at the dining hall… you’re going to do quite well here with that attitude.”

Yuna blanched. “I, uh— thanks, sir.” She curtly bowed.

Her parents, however, still looked concerned. “Yuna… we’re worried about your safety,” Calcifer said. “If we return home and something happens to you—”

“Isn’t that why Noctum and Baraz are here?” Yuna gestured at the black charizard. “And what about Captain Dimitry?”

Vortex clasped his hands together. “If you’re concerned for the Princess’ safety, I can ask Her Eminence to loan Radiant Guardsmon. They can serve as escorts for her if she travels away from Horizon Gardens.”

Yuna’s parents exchanged frowns. For a moment, Yuna was worried she hadn’t convinced them. But her spirits lifted when their postures eased up. “Very well. I suppose that she can take part… provided she receives that escort.” Yiazmat looked down. “I’d rather surround her with my own troops, but we’ll take what we can get in this situation.”

“I assure you, I’ll provide her with the most capable officers we have,” Vortex said. He walked around his desk to make for the door. “Now then, how about I let Princess Yuna return to her room so she can prepare for the—”

“Chancellor.”

Arianna appeared in front of the office door in a flash of blue light. Yuna tensed upon seeing the toxtricity she’d encountered earlier ensnared in the gardevoir’s psychic grasp.

Vortex’s tail flame briefly sparked. “Arianna. Your timing is… well, it could be better.” He cleared his throat and gestured to Yuna’s parents.

“Apologies. I assumed this meeting had already concluded.” Arianna nudged her glasses up to hide her expression. Though Yuna imagined it was still stoic.

“It’s not a problem. We were just about to take our leave.” Yiazmat floated toward the door. Noctum scrambled forward to open it for her. “Come, Yuna. We’ll take you back to your room.”

“O-Okay.” Yuna floated toward her mom. She quickened her pace when she passed Toxtricity.

Cid tried to follow after them, but Vortex held up his right hand. “Don’t leave yet. We have business to discuss after I tend to this.”

Tensing further, Cid held up his right arm. His telekinesis shut the office door. As he back away from Arianna, Vortex turned to her.

“So, what seems to be the problem? Is our dear, sweet Nicolette causing trouble again?”

“There’s no problem. And it’s Nikki.” She tried to pull herself away from Arianna, but the gardevoir’s ESP was too strong.

“I caught this scoundrel defacing the posters of Starlene that the art club put together for tonight’s banquet.” Arianna flicked her left arm. A rolled-up poster appeared next to her and unfurled. Nikki had spray-painted cartoonish dragon fangs and horns over a sparkle-filled drawing depicting a meloetta. Cid had to stop himself from laughing.

“I wasn’t defacing ’em. I was adding my own artistic flair,” Nikki grunted. Her struggling against Arianna had weakened.

Vortex sighed and rubbed his temples. “While I admire your passion, Nicolette, I can’t have you channeling it against your peers.” He took the poster, held it up to his snout, and snorted out tufts of fire. The poster burned to cinders that Vortex caught in his hands. He took them to a trash bin beside his desk. “Why don’t you join the art club? That way you can channel this passion of yours in a way that will uplift students’ spirits and grow their hope.”

“The art club can kiss my ass. They’re stuffier than a room full of weezing.”

Arianna’s eyes flickered blue. “Don’t you talk down about your peers like that,” she snapped.

Vortex chuckled and raised a hand. “Easy, Arianna. We don’t want to quash Nicolette’s spirit. It’s part of what makes her unique.” He sat on the edge of his desk, careful to keep his tail flame safely above the papers. “That uniqueness needs to be nurtured… in a way that’s productive. So, this graffiti of yours simply won’t do.”

Nikki snorted. “Agree to disagree, Chancellor.” She crossed her arms and looked away. “So, what now? You gonna make me miss the banquet? That’s fine by me.”

“That would be a proper punishment in this situation,” Arianna said, looking down at her notebook.

“Proper? Perhaps. But would it be productive?” Vortex tapped a claw on his desk. He looked to Cid. “What do you think, Professor? Should Miss Nicolette be barred from the banquet?”

Cid tensed up. He intended to remain silent through this conversation. Heck, he was tuning the other three out until Vortex put him on the spot. “Y-Yes. Madame Vice-Chancellor is right, sir. If she’s defacing banners for the banquet… won’t she cause trouble at the actual event if we let her attend?”

“Indeed. A good deduction.” Vortex crossed his arms and grinned pleasantly. “However, it’s not a productive one.”

Arianna quirked a brow. “Sir?”

“Chrome Dome’s telling the truth, though. What if I take my artistic vision to the banquet itself?” Nikki smirked and tugged at the sides of her leather jacket.

Vortex’s smile widened. “That’s exactly what I want you to do.”

“Eh?”

“Like I said… your passion needs direction.” Vortex crossed one leg over another. “Excluding you from the banquet does nothing to achieve that. But if I, say, assign you to work with the stage crew from now until the end of the banquet—”

Nikki’s smirk vanished. “What? I’m not working on the stage crew. I’ll blow out the lights with a Boomburst. I’ll— ow!”

A psychic force tugged on her right horn. “Don’t interrupt the Chancellor,” Arianna scolded.

“Working on the stage crew is a great way to teach you to channel your passion in a productive manner.” Vortex smiled warmly. “Once you see how much the students appreciate your work, I’m sure it will fill you with hope. Hope that will energize you in your studies.”

Nikki wanted to retort, but Vortex held up his hand. “And, of course, I’ll have Professor Monokuma supervise you… just to make sure everything goes smoothly.”

The color drained from Nikki’s face. A brief image of a hulking bewear flashed through Cid’s mind. He hovered back, fidgeting nervously. The poor girl. If she stepped out of line, she’d probably get one of his awful hugs.

“Now then… Arianna, be a dear and escort Miss Nicolette to the gym.” Vortex waved the two ladies off. Arianna nodded, then placed a hand on Nikki’s shoulder. The toxtricity was about to blurt something out, but the two vanished as fast as they had appeared. Once they did, Cid exhaled deeply.

“I don’t know how you can stay so calm dealing with that,” Cid said, gesturing toward the marble floor where Arianna previously stood.

“I’ve had years of experience.” Vortex chuckled as he walked toward the shelves opposite Cid. He opened a drawer and produced a bottle of bourbon along with two small glasses. “Would you like one?”

The orbeetle’s spots flashed blue. “I’ll, uh, pass, sir.” He looked away while Vortex prepared his drink. “What did you want me to stay for?”

Sipping the bourbon, Vortex walked back to his desk. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to make some last-minute changes to the Crowne Cup team you’re supervising.”

“Y… you…” His spots flickered erratically. This had to be because of the meeting. “I see. So, you’re moving the princess to a new team?”

“Oh no. You’ll still be her advisor.” Vortex set his drink down and opened up a folder. “But I’ll be giving her two new teammates.” He held up two photos. Cid immediately recognized Nikki sticking her tongue out and holding up her hand to form an L on her forehead. But the other photo — a scowling grovyle with black, triangular markings under his eyes and a black pokébase cap on his head — drew a complete blank.

“Sir, if I may? I’m not sure this is a good idea.” Cid poked two fingers together nervously. “Nikki is quite the firebrand. Any team she’s on will struggle to pass the first leg.”

“That’s the point.”

The cheerfulness in Vortex’s voice gave Cid pause. “I— e-excuse me?”

“Princess Yuna wants to compete in the Crowne Cup.” Vortex held up his right hand. “Her parents don’t.” He held up his left hand. “Thus, the best way to approach this problem is to place her on a dysfunctional team that will likely fall at the first hurdle. She’ll be able to compete, but will be eliminated early… dispelling her parents worries about travelling outside of Horizon Gardens.” He clasped his hands together and squeezed tight.

Cid frowned. Hadn’t Vortex mentioned a committee choosing the teams? Was he going to supersede that whole process on a whim? Still, Cid had to admit, it wasn’t a bad plan. He just wished it wasn’t his team that had to be the proverbial sacrifice in this situation. He didn’t want his first impression with the other faculty to be that of a loser whose team got bounced from the Crowne Cup in the first leg.

“You’re new to this, Cid.” Vortex lifted his bourbon glass and held it by his snout. “You have yet to learn that diplomacy has just as much of a place in the classroom as it does in Parliament. Those who can make both sides happy go far in this profession.”

He swallowed the rest of the bourbon in one swig and set the glass down. “If you can’t drill that into your head… then the next time we meet, you’ll be handing me your letter of resignation.” Vortex frowned. “And I would hate to see your brilliant mind go to waste when it has such a great potential for cultivating hope.”

Cid stared at the empty glass, then Vortex, then the glass again. Of course the Chancellor had high hopes for him. He wouldn’t have hired him otherwise… right? “How, uh—” He swallowed hard. “How many professors have failed to, y’know, drill that into their heads?”

“In my time as Chancellor… I’ve had half a dozen resignations pass my desk.” The charizard looked out the window pensively. “All young and bright-eyed like you.”

“I see.”

“But I have faith in your abilities.” Vortex turned back around. “If you’re ever struggling, I suggest you speak to Professor Vegna. He can help.”

“Vegna?”

“Dusknoir Vegna.”

Cid gulped. Hadn’t he heard that name before? “Wait… like Inquisitor Vegna?

“The very same.”

Cid’s heart pounded in his chest. “R-Right.” He buzzed toward the door. “I should get going. Thank you for your time, Chancellor.”

Vortex smiled. “Anytime. I’ll be seeing you at the banquet for the team unveiling, yes?”

“Of course, sir.” Cid bobbed his head, then hurriedly flew out the door.

XxX

Icons of Yuna, Nikki, and Shimmer part of sets commissioned from Charburst.